Shoe sole



P. JONES.

SHOE SOLE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, 1921.

1 Aggy? 1 6; Patented July 111, 1922.,

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PAUL JONES, or nausea, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIG-NOR T0 COMMONWEALTH SHOE dz CHUSET'IS.

SHOE SOLE.

ll A22, 71 8,

Application filed October 22, 1921.

To allwhomit may'coacem:

Be it known that 1, PAUL Jones, a citizen of the United States of America, and resi dent of Hanson, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have -invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe Soles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention concerns boots and shoes of a type suitable for out-door wear, as for example when playing golf, and relates more particularly .to an improved sole for such boots or shoes.

One of the chief requisites in a shoe of this character is that the sole of the foot be firmly supported in a plane perpendicular to the thrust of the body Weight while standing or Walking, particularly when the legs are somewhat spaced apart, or braced, as, in walking over uneven ground or in the stance of golf. A furtherdesideratum is that the shoe be equipped with means capable of preventing slipping, and particularly slipping in a lateral direction during the stance or when traversing wet and grassy hillsides and similarly diflicult terrain, such as commonly is encountered upon a golf course. Together with the HbOXG features the shoe should give comfort in ordinary use and have the ability to resist wear to the maximum extent.

The object of the present invention is to provide a shoe having a sole so constructed as to combine all the above desirable characteristics and to this end the invention may consist in the provision of a plurality of spaced antifriction lugs or plugs, preferably of resilient material projecting from the under surfaceof the sole and arranged to form the bearing or ground engaging elements of the sole. These lugs may, if desired, be formed as integral projections from a piece of sheet material, such as rubber or the like, located between the inner and outer soles of the shoe, the several lugs projecting through suitable openings in the outer sole.

In accordance with this invention the lugs are of generally circular form with the exception of those at the ball or hearing portion of the sole. At this point, at least two longitudinally spaced, elongate lugs are preferably arranged near the outer edge of the sole and with their longer axes substantially parallel to such edge. These lugs thus present elongated side faces which serve to prevent lateral slipping, while at the same Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July til, 1922. Serial No. 509,533.

time their longitudinal arrangement provides a-lirm and extended support for the foot during ordinary walking. Near the nner edge of the sole a third elongate plug or lug is also provided, such plug also extending substantially parallel to the adjacent edge port1on of the sole. This plug, however. 1S, preferably somewhat lower than the two lugs at the outer edge so' that when the wearer stands with his legs spaced apart, a firm support 1s provided for the sole of the foot which is of prime importance in a golf shoe where, for example, the utmost solidity ot stance is necessary and which can be assured only by raising the outer side of the shoe sole relatively to the inner side. Preferably the three elongate lugs are so arranged as to constitute the apices of a substantially equilateral or whereby the advantages of a three-point support at that part of the shoe where the load is greatest are secured. The emplovment of the elongate lugs provides a maximum of lateral resistance t side slipping with a' minimum number of openings through the outer member of the sole. so that the latter is weakened much less than would be the case were a multiplicity of round plugs, having in the aggregate the same amount of lateral resistance, employed.

One mode of carrying the invention into effect is disclosed by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation of a shoe embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of Fig. 1 to somewhat larger scale showing the anti-slipping plugs projecting through the shoe sole;

Fig. 3 is a lon itudinal cross section on the line a-b of ig. 2, the upper of the shoe being omitted; and

Fig. i is a transverse cross section on the line 0-d of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, a shoe is indicated at 1 having a sole 2 and a heel 3. The shoe sole has the outer edge 4 and the inner edge 5 and is preferably composed of an inner sole member 6 upon which the foot of the wearer rests, an outer or lower sole member 7 and a middle member 8 interposed between the inner and outer soles. This inner member is preferably of rubber or some similar sheet material having waterisosceles triangle proof qualities, although this is not essential to the present invention. The outer sole member 7 is formed with a plurality of apertures through which project outstanding lugs carried by the member 8. Certain of these lugs, as indicated at 9, may be of circular cross section, while others of the lugs are of elongated form as indicated at 10, 11 and 12 respectively. The elongated lugs as herein disclosed are three in number, and are so disposed at the ball portion of the sole that their central points define a triangle of substantially equilateral or isosceles form. The lugs 10 and 11 are located near the outer edge 4 of the sole, while. the lug 12 is located near the inner edge thereof, thus, forming a three-point bearing for the foot which serves to support the weight of the wearer in the most efiicient manner. The longer axes of the lugs 10 and 11 are arranged to extend substantially parallel to the adjacent portions of the edge 4, while the longer axis of the lug 12 is similarly disposed as respects the adjacent portion of the edge 5. The lugs 10 and 11 are spaced apart somewhat in a longitudinal direction, and by reason of their elongated form thus provide a bearing surface of substantial length in a front-to-rear direction. At the same time the elongation of the lugs in a front-to-rear direction serves to prevent any tendency of the foot to rock or tip in such direction during ordinary walking. The elongated form of these lugs also provides anti-slipping sur faces of substantial. length in a direction longitudinal of the sole, such surfaces being indicated at 13, 14 and 15 respectively, and serving in a highly efficient manner to prevent lateral slipping of the foot when standing on unstable ground or upon slippery surfaces.

The lugs 10 and 11 are preferably somewhat higher than the lug 12, such arrangement tending to cause the upper member 6 of the sole to incline inwardly toward the edge 5 when the bearing lugs rest upon a horizontal surface. This, as above pointed shoe sole constructed as hereinabove described, the sole of the foot is firmly supported when in such inclined position, thus giving the wearer the desired support at the time most necessary.

The employment of a relatively small number of elongated plugs as above described furnishes the desired extent of surface ca pable of resisting lateral slipping, while at the same time areas of the openings through the outer member 7 of the sole are reduced to a minimum, so that the latter sole memher is not unnecessarily weakened, as might be the case were a larger number of circular plugs to be substituted therefor.

While the plugs have herein been shown as integral with the member 8, it is to be understood that they might under some circumstances be formed as independent members if desired and that in so far as certain aspects of the present invention are concerned, such plugs might well be attached directly to the outer sole member '7. It is also to be understood that the exact relative arrangement of the several elongated plugs is not ordinarily of substantial importance but that they might be otherwise spaced and that a greater number thereof might be employed if circumstances were found to warrant such an arrangement.

I claim:

A shoe sole having resilient projections outstanding therefrom and constituting elements of the wear surface thereof, one of such projections being arranged near the inner edge of the sole and another near its outer edge, the latter of said projections being of greater height than the other.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 15th day of Uctober, 1921.

PAUL JQNES. 

